Mauritania transfers power between two elected leaders for first time

Mauritania, roiled by a history of military coups and upheaval, saw its first transfer of power between elected leaders on Thursday as President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz handed over to his successor.

Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani was sworn in at a conference centre near the capital Nouakchott before a crowd of 5,000 people.

He won elections on June 22 to replace Abdel Aziz, his mentor.

"I swear to carry out my duties with full impartiality and with respect for the law and the constitution," Ghazouani said at the ceremony.

Ghazouani, 62, described himself as the "president of all." He vowed to make security a priority by strengthening the army and to help poor communities.

Abdel Aziz, who seized power in 2008, was credited with stabilising the country after three decades of upheaval, reforming the armed forces, cracking down on jihadists and bringing development to remote parts of the vast predominantly Muslim Sahel state.

But the former leader also came under fire from rights groups for restricting freedom of expression and assembly.

A conservative country with a populaton of less than five million, Mauritania also struggles with ethnic tensions between communities of Arab-Berbers and those of black African descent.

Among those at the ceremony were Senegalese President Macky Sall and other leaders of the G5 Sahel nations, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad, who have joined forces with Mauritania against Islamist militants.

Ghazouani, a former general, won a majority of 52 percent of the vote though opposition parties denounced electoral fraud. Claiming hundreds of people were arrested in a crackdown on post-poll protests, the opposition appealed to void the result with the country's Constitutional Council.